The Heat took a step forward with their win vs. the Hornets tonight. The game was tense like a playoff game. Tyler Herro scored 33 points, Bam had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Jaime Jaquez had 21 points. Kon Kneuppel, Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball combined to score 70 points. The Hornets showed they are ready to step up and compete for the Top 6 seeds in the East.
Key Sequence
Bam Adebayo hit a jumper to tie the score at 108 with under eight minutes in the quarter. Ryan Kalkbrenner missed a layup, got his own rebound and tried another layup. Kel’el Ware blocked the shot. Dru Smith tried to score at the other end. Kalkbrenner blocked another shot but the Heat got the offensive rebound.
Tyler Herro hit a three-point shot and Brandon Miller committed a key turnover. Kel’el Ware scored with an Alley-Oop dunk to put the Heat up 113-108. Kon Kneuppel got his shot blocked by Kel’el Ware, the Hornets got the offensive rebound. LaMelo Ball missed a three-point shot and then they had a 24 second violation. At the other end, Bam got his shot blocked, the Heat secured the offensive rebound and Bam hit a fadeaway jumper to put the Heat up 7.
Hornets kept fighting
The Heat were up 7 but Grant Williams hit a three-point shot on the next possession. Tyler Herro and Bam scored to put the Heat up six. But, Kneuppel hit a three. He hit another three and the Hornets were down 3. Tyler Herro and Dru Smith scored and Kneuppel came back again with another three. Bam and Dru Smith hit their foul shots and that secured the game.
Heat show mental toughness tonight
The Heat won the tiebreaker with the Hornets, up 3-0 with one game remaining. The Heat have consequential games next week, all at the Kaseya Center. They play Detroit on Sunday, Washington on Tuesday, Milwaukee on Thursday and Orlando on Saturday. The Heat are in a virtual tie with Philadelphia for the sixth seed. They are 20-11 at home and can win the majority of the games in the upcoming week.
